Watercolor-Inspired Pan Fried Trout & Hibiscus Crème Fraîche

Time to reveal our 2nd course in this watercolor inspired menu! (You can see the first course here). The second dish in this lineup is fresh from the sea; a pan fried trout on top of a creamy, tangy, and slightly floral hibiscus crème fraîche, which also looks amazing and a little bit 80s retro, yes?

To accompany the whole thing I added a few slices of avo, citrus, endive, and some chives to garnish. I love all the pops of colour from the ingredients, it will definitely make a huge impression on your guests and it’s super easy to make! You can trust this dinner will be severely Instagrammed.

You can also swap the trout for something else that’s similar in taste like cod or sole. Salmon could look pretty cute too with all those pink hues happening in the flesh. Still, trout is so mild that it works perfectly for this dish.

1. Grab the hibiscus tea leaves and grind them in a spice or coffee grinder (or the blender) until you get a nice powder. Sift the big chunks and keep the powder.
2. Take a frying pan and put some oil to fry (olive or canola), season the trout fillets with salt and pepper, then fry skin side first for 3-5 minutes without touching it, this way it’ll be nice and golden, flip the fish and cook for another minute, remove from the heat.
3. Combine the hibiscus powder, beet powder, crème fraîche, zest of 1 lemon, zest of 1 lime, and season with salt and pepper. Combine until all powder is mixed and crème is bright pink (you can add extra beet powder if you want a more intense color)
4. To serve, smear some of the crème fraîche on a plate, place the fish on top, slice the avo and envides and arrange around it. Slice some citrus and add it too, then top it all with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Garnish with the Aleppo chili flakes and chives.

This dish is super simple so make sure to get fresh trout so you get the best taste out of it.

Enjoy!

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Gabriel Cabrera is a Photographer and Stylist living and working in Vancouver, Canada. He's a travel addict with a penchant for Nordic design, Latin Food, and French pastries. When he's not testing recipes at home, he can be found sipping one or two cocktails while brunching with friends. He believes chocolate can always save the day. You can follow along his food adventures on Artful Desperado and Instagram.